Since its inception, information technology has become one of the major factors for the success (or failure) of the business. Technology has changed the way companies do business. Without it, companies cannot stay competitive or be operationally efficient.

And the growth of cloud computing has only accelerated this shift. Many CIOs believe the cloud is IT's silver bullet, a heralded way to make the business green.

However, the reality is that the cloud is just a Band-Aid fix for a deeper, more internal issue that will still exist even if a migration to the cloud is initiated and implemented. The underlying thread, talked about only in hushed tones if it is ever discussed, is IT waste.

It's a tough prospect and an arduous task to even gather the information accurately so that it's effect can be seen as tangible evidence that actions need to be taken. Even when information is accumulated, the remediation steps are seldom identified.

As with any other area, waste accumulates over time within the IT infrastructure, and as companies throw ever more money at IT departments, it adds up to significant lost time, energy and yes, money. But IT waste remains a largely unaddressed issue because it is an arduous task to even gather the needed information, much less taking action.

But for any company considering moving company data or functions to the cloud, a good, old-fashioned spring cleaning must be the first step. And with green initiatives and incentives on the forefront of business consciousness, it's becoming mandatory.

To be a green company and not just a slightly greener company, attention must be focused on eliminating the massive amount of waste prevalent throughout the IT infrastructure.

There are three areas of focus for cleaning up the IT organization: Time, Money and Energy.

Saving Time

The appropriate amount of time to perform a task or complete a project is critical. When business objectives must be met in a short time frame and resources are tied down supporting current or emerging technology issues, timelines for projects and tasks can slip dramatically. 

One huge time-sucker for IT organizations today is the inordinate amount of time spent on boring and repetitive tasks. In large organizations, hundreds or thousands of calls to the helpdesk are made just to request the same software over and over. This consumes IT administrative time and ultimately leads to user frustration because the software is never deployed on time. According to the HelpDesk Efficiency Report [PDF] my company published in 2010, software delivery using this principle can take days or sometimes weeks.

Users have become accustomed to how technologies like the iPhone App store work and frequently wonder why their own company's technology cannot work the same way.

When a business user keeps requesting the same type of software over and over, wouldn't it be much simpler if the end-user population could service themselves? What if they could utilize technology that allows them to "shop" for company-licensed software using an internal service, much like the iPhone App store, and have the software installed automatically?

To free up time for the business, identify and automate those operations that are critical to the business function. Locating repetitive and complex tasks and organizing and automating them up front reduces time and costs, but also reduces the error rates associated with running them.

Windows 7 migrations continue to be a hot-button project for most organizations and should be considered as another task that can be automated. The same technology utilized to automate software installations can be used to migrate the business user to the latest Microsoft operating system, and on their time frame. Giving control back to the user allows them to update the computer when it's most business-appropriate, minimizing downtime and keeping the user productive.

Saving Money

The cost of purchasing, implementing and managing technology has long been a pain point for most organizations. And there are no shortcuts to this process.

However, when new business objectives reach the IT organization, the thought process has been to just throw money, in the form of new technology, at it until the objective has been reached. If the initial investment didn't solve the problem, IT will keep spending money. If you consider this, even a little, you can see that the IT "habit" can generate an enormous amount of waste in unused software and hardware.